Genealogy

Ninkō was the fourth son of Emperor Kōkaku. He had 7 sons and 8 daughters from various concubines, but only the future Emperor Komei (Komei-tennō), Princess Sumiko (Sumiko-hime) and Princess Chikako (Chikako-hime) survived to adulthood.

Events of Ninkō's life

He reigned from October 31, 1817 to February 21, 1846.

Ninkō was named as crown prince in 1809, being adopted by the chief wife (chūgū), of his father, the Emperor, Imperial Princess Yoshiko (?, 欣子内親王), also known as Shin-Seiwa-in (?, 新清和院). Ninkō was enthroned as Emperor in 1817 after his father retired from the throne. Following his father the Retired Emperor's wishes, he attempted to revive certain court rituals and practices. For example, Ninkō and all other emperors after his father have been identified as tennō.

Among Ninkō's innovations was the establishment of the Gakushūsho (the predecessor of the Gakushūin for the Court Nobility just outside of the Imperial Palace.

After Ninkō's death in 1846, he was enshrined in the Imperial mausoleum, Nochi no Tsukinowa no Higashiyama no misasagi( 後月輪東山陵?), which is at Sennyū-ji in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto.[2]

Kugyō

Kugyō (公卿) is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. Even during those years in which the court's actual influence outside the palace walls was minimal, the hierarchic organization persisted.

In general, this elite group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background would have brought them to the pinnacle of a life's career. During Ninkō's reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included: